Who: Ian & JD What: Supporting a friend and a little bit more When: Memorial Day (backdated) Where: Ian’s quarters Rating: High - NSFW (mentions of nudity), PTSD Status: Complete
“Yes Sir” [...] had come to be code for “I love you”.
The evening was starting to wind down, despite his desires to leave before the fireworks JD had gotten held back by one of the other guards who it seemed just wanted to chat and didn’t seem to understand that not everyone liked pyrotechnics, especially those who had seen active duty and explosions brought back memories.
He all but ran from the gathering on the beach back to their accommodation block, God he hoped that the series of explosions that were going on overhead weren’t causing any issues with Ian, but there was only one way to find out as he knocked firmly on the door of Ian’s place. At times like this, if the other didn’t answer their door in a few minutes then something wasn’t quite right and he’d use his key and let himself in.
A sharp inhale of air was taken.
Ian had done his best to try to get out of dodge before the fireworks began. Skin had paled visibly. Usually he was agreeable, offering a smile here and there, but in the skittering away from the beach his features were set with serious desperation. Sweat beaded upon his brow, he stopped to talk to no one.
He made it back to the housing where he was staying just after the show at the beach had begun. Heart hammering in his chest he began to see flashes of that day - bright, blinding sun, a language he didn’t understand being shouted harshly around them, sand threatening to blow into your eyes.
Back pressed against the entrance door to the Facility, Ian made himself pull together long enough to get to where he was staying. Fingers fumbled with keys. He dropped them, teeth grit barely restraining from punching a hole in the door just to get into the room. He made himself stop, fetch the keys, and then he was in the room. Nearly leaving the door open Ian dropped his things on the floor on his scramble to the bed; boot kicked off here, prosthetic leg left in a heap of khakis, keys there.
Pillow was lifted and pressed over his head, over his ears, to drown out the sounds.
When there was no answer JD put the key into the lock and opened the door, his eyes accustomed to the darkness inside as he shut and locked it behind him. Looking around the living room he saw that Ian wasn’t there, that was good at least, he hadn’t just got inside and lost it.
Walking through the apartment he looked around, seeing items discarded along the way. “Ian…” He said softly, he wasn’t really expecting a reply, if his friend was in the middle of an episode he doubted Ian’s mind was still on the island but instead back in the desert.
Entering the bedroom he saw Ian’s form on the bed, pillow over his head. Walking over he sat down gently on the edge of the bed, looking down at his friend. “Hey Ian… it’s JD. Can you hear me? It’s okay, you’re back in the US. We’re not in the desert anymore. You’re safe.” JD’s voice was soft, a hand reaching out and lightly touching Ian on the arm, this moment was always touch and go, would he lash out or would he just curl in on himself.
A shudder wracked through him; Ian’s muscles spasmed with motion, hands clamped down upon the pillows. He didn’t care if his oxygen ran out only because just then it didn’t matter. He was worlds away from Washington, worlds away from the festivities. Gunfire, he was hearing gunfire, shouting. He could almost smell the sand, and then his ears were ringing from the explosion. Vision hazy. Hand went to his leg, the knee but only air was felt, and liquid. Bleeding, he was bleeding, and then the moaning began ...
That touch at his arm caused the soldier to wrench away, nearly rolling off of the mattress. He teetered at the edge of the bed only to tumble out. With a soft exhale he hit the floor, planting into the mattress a tangle of skin and sheets.
Deep breaths and Ian looked up, the room was spinning. “JD?” Was uttered in a sparrows breath, tone laced with confusion. Ian twisted on the pallet trying to find his bearings.
The reaction didn't surprise him, honestly nothing surprised him much anymore, at least this time Ian hadn't socked him one in the face, those were never fun but it was a natural reaction for them, fight overran flight.
He got up from where he was seated and walked around the bed to the other side, looking down at the pile of sheets and limbs that lay there. Kneeling down he offered a hand to help Ian get back up onto the bed.
"Yeah it's me buddy, it's JD." He said, voice still barely above a whisper as he went through the usual routine of telling Ian when and where they were, trying to bring him back to the present. "It's 2019 and we're off the coast of Washington on Destruction Island."
His heart was hammering in his chest. Pupils dilated as images scurried across his mind in real time. Ian was seeing JD - seeing him the way he had back when they’d served together, the sun was nearly blinding in spite of the room being dark. The feeling of floating interrupted the vision. No protest would come, only the silent motion of arms winding around his friend in an effort to get right sided.
Shame began to fill his features, flooding hot into his cheeks and his neck. “2019,” He repeated, lifting his eyes up in the darkness. A crack from above, an echo of resounding fireworks, and Ian nearly leapt into JD’s arms again. His own limbs lifted, winding around that muscular neck, burying his face into the warm skin.
Shuddering again as if he were cold he clung to the warmth of his friend, drawing him as close as possible. If JD needed to go, Ian would let him but JD never left when he was like this. Nor did Ian leave when the roles were reversed.
He sat down on the pile of sheets and blankets, careful of Ian's limbs under it. His arms opened as his friend moved closer and gently wrapped around the scared form. "It's okay… I gotcha."
JD winced at the loud crack of the firework and as Ian practically jumped into his lap, although the other man was already in his arms he pulled Ian closer, into his lap, holding onto him firmly but not too tight like he was trying to protect him from everything. "They're fireworks… it's Memorial Day… you're safe. I promise."
Eyes slid shut as Ian buried his face into the crook of JD's neck, his friend needed him right now and he wasn't going to go anywhere, they were there for each other, no matter the battle - even if it was a battle that waged on inside their minds.
He hated himself. Hated this phantom menace that scoured the inside of his mind picking at the rational thought. When he had enlisted Ian had not taken the old combat stories to heart; those old tales would never impact him, that was what he’d convinced himself of. With grandeur he willingly rushed into combat and now here he was, curled up a shriveled mass in the lap of his oldest friend fighting to regain himself.
Maneuvering, he settled comfortably into that hard frame. Arms around neck, face buried in skin. A breath was exhaled and his head lifted, end of his nose grazing the hard line of JD’s scruffy jaw. Familiar with the scent he took comfort in the presence.
It was something that ran through every soldiers head before they actually saw combat 'That won't happen to me! I'm strong in mind and body, nothing's going to get me down', except it was usually those who ended up getting hit the hardest. JD knew that it wasn't going to be easy, especially after 9/11 but he had gotten out lightly compared to so many others, he still had all his limbs, his life and his sanity, well most of the time at least.
He sat there, murmuring soft words of encouragement to Ian, after a while he could feel his friend's body relax some, the tension from the flashback gone. Though there was something else now, he felt that breath against his skin and the tip of the nose brushing lightly along the line of his jaw. "Back with me?" He asked, arms loosening the embrace, just slightly.
Echoes of soft murmurs combatted the sound of gunfire, the resonation of gunfire hollowing out the firmest parts of him. At war he found peace.
Nearly panting as the world around him settled Ian nodded. He slid backward as he reclaimed what little of himself there was left to find purchase and foundation. Through lashes he looked at his friend, his oldest friend, and he nodded. “Yes Sir,” came the response. It had come to be code for I love you - three words never to be uttered which were sacred.
Would he take the chance there? Risk everything they’d built over a decade up to this moment or would he keep to himself as always?
A soldier didn’t give up when faced with battle, the enemy, but fighting the enemy was easy. Matters of the heart were hard.
Hands would come up and push firmly, guiding his friend down toward the bare, single sheet covered mattress. But before JD could get too far Ian was following as always except this time a kiss would be placed lightly upon full lips.
JD wasn't sure what the hell was going on, especially when Ian pushed him down onto the bed. He was going to protest, to ask his friend what was going on, what kind of game he was playing.
Until those lips pressed against his. They were softer than he thought they would be, Ian's body was all form muscles why should his lips be any different? But they weren't, they were soft and gentle and unlike anything his twisted mind had come up with in his fantasies.
"What are you doing?" He asked, looking up at the man above him.
“Shhh,” came the response. He wasn’t sure it could be heard over the rumbling above but he made himself settle and focus on the moment. The fact that he was doing what he felt was the right thing. They’d come here together, had served together, had been through a lot together.
His eyes closed, bare hips pushed against JD’s clothed ones. Lips met his against, tender and adoring. Palms still pressed upon that firm chest.
He had heard the whispered hush just moments before the rumble of the next firework going off, JD had been there for Ian so many times over the years, just as Ian had done the same for him. They had pulled one another out of many dark places before and to start with he thought that this was just like those times, using their tried and true methods of getting Ian out of the war in his mind and back to the now, the real world.
Except this world they were in now was something completely different and unexpected, Ian was above him one moment and pinning him against the bed the next. JD could have pushed the other man off, told Ian that this was wrong and he wasn’t thinking straight but he didn’t, his mind kind of fizzled out when their lips met again and that body lowered down on top of him.
Ian was glad to find that his friend wasn’t pushing him off, or scolding his boldness. He’d taken the chance knowing that could happen. They’d known each other long enough for Ian to be privy as to what sort of things JD believed in and even after all of those strings of days, weeks, years, this had never been an idea he was one hundred percent about.
Hands rand across hard pectorals, over the cloth of JD’s shirt. Fingers trickled like water to taut abdomen. His good leg was bent at the knee as he straddled the other man to keep him in place.
Another small series of kisses would be laid upon tender lips before Ian pulled back slightly to catch his breath.
Honestly, even now it was something that JD wasn't really sure of himself. For years he had told himself that these kinds of feelings he had started to develop towards Ian were wrong, because of their history, of what they had gone through together. Brothers in arms, not in the bedroom.
His arms were lying out on the bed, completely submissive at that moment which was a strange feeling in itself, but he knew that Ian wouldn't hurt him. His stomach quivered at the soft touch of fingers brushing over them, breath catching against those lips.
"What are we…? We can't…" Came the protests, though half hearted. Ian was still confused, that was it, that had to be the reason, Ian couldn't be attracted to him, right?
Ian knew that JD was the stronger of them, that he could easily just brush Ian aside if he wanted to and be done with this whole thing. He didn’t want any obligation or stress about it, there as either something there for JD or there wasn’t but he didn’t want to live in regret and never offer the chance to see for himself.
Those protests had Ian leaning backward a bit more, dark eyes peering through shadows at the face of the man beneath him. “You want me to stop?” Biting at his lips, shoulders slouching, Ian began to sit up slowly.
There wouldn’t be any fighting about it, he couldn’t make that spark fly. A touch of shame and disappointment settled over his expression, thank god it was dark. Biting at his lip he began to move with the intent of sliding off of his friend and letting him go.
JD’s large hands came up to Ian’s biceps, curling around them to stop the other man from pulling back too far. Although it was dark in the room, only a tiny bit of light coming in from outside stopped it from been totally pitch black, his eyes had adjusted and he could see Ian biting at his lip.
“I don’t… I don’t want to take advantage of you…” It wasn’t a no, because really, JD didn’t want him to stop and that was probably evident by the fact that his leg had bent to try to stop Ian from moving back.
Those large hands and strong fingers were warm against the cool skin of his bicep. As soon as he felt the contact Ian paused, turning to look down at his friend still pinned beneath him. He knew he couldn’t hide from the other man, it was impossible for as well as they knew each other to begin with, so hiding what he’d felt for a long time had been strenuous and exhausting.
“You would never do that,” came the reply. Ian doubted JD would ever take advantage of anyone who didn’t ultimately deserve it.
The weight of the man’s calf pressing against the side of his good leg was a sign he was taking as positive, trying to keep him in place. “You’re not.” Shaking his head Ian breathed out an exhale, “I shouldn’t have done that, but I’m not sorry that it happened. Honestly, I’ve wanted to do that for quite a long time.”
His hands eased their grip on biceps, knowing that Ian wasn’t going to move away from him, and slid down towards the other man’s elbows. In the back of mind he couldn’t believe this was happening, it was all in his head wasn’t it? It was a dream, it had to be, Ian’s interest in him couldn’t be as mutual, Ian was a model soldier and didn’t think of those carnal things about his friend.
JD grew up in a strict Christian household, even though he rebelled from a lot of those beliefs when he ran away from home all these years later several things still rung in his head. That voice in the back of his head was telling him it was wrong to feel this way about Ian, but if God was love then he wouldn’t care, he would just be happy for his creations, right?
His lip rolled between this teeth as Ian talked, saying that it was something that he had wanted to do for so long and wasn’t sorry for it. JD had only slept with one guy before and he hadn’t gotten smoted or whatever it was that his father said happened to ‘those filthy queers’, he could at least give it a try.
He knew that if he kept blabbering on there’d be no stopping and JD hadn’t been able to offer any insight on the predicament. It wasn’t that his own household wasn’t faithful - all of them at one point had gone to church actively, and before his deployment Ian still went every Sunday. It made him no less a person, feeling this way.
Turning his head he wait to see what the verdict would be, if there was anything at all on his friend’s mind for or against what had happened or what the next step might be.
Too loud was the sound of his heart hammering in his ears but finally the fireworks seemed to have abated.
He knew he could trust Ian, he just hoped that this - whatever it might be - wouldn’t have any kind of bad effect on their decade long friendship. If there was anyone else in this world that had seen all sides of Jackson, it was Ian.
So JD took the risk, a hand moving up Ian’s arm to curl around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. A real one. None of this gentle brush of lips against lips, this was firm and almost bordering on rough.
Feeling himself be drawn in and down Ian turned to look at his friend, memorizing lines in the darkness. A breath was taken and then their mouths collided in a way that had only once ever been a dream. It wasn’t the testing of the waters, so to speak, but the initial diving in.
Palm went to a shoulder for purchase and balance, fingers digging some into the fabric covered flesh there. Unable to help himself a small groan escaped his mouth, a sound of satisfaction as if he’d been waiting his whole life for that one moment.
Feeling Ian kissing back JD let himself relax, just a bit, yes this was what the other man wanted, he would’ve pulled away if he didn’t want this kind of kiss. After a few moments hesitation his lips parted and his tongue teased, wanting entrance into Ian’s mouth. If he was going to go to hell he might as well make it for something really sinful.
A hand moved from where it was resting on Ian’s forearm to his back, a bit of pressure in the center to tell Ian it was alright to lie back down on top of him.
Anything JD wanted Ian would always give; on the battlefield, the back and forth at the gym, here in his bed. It was dangerous, powerful, that spell the other man had over his heart but Ian trusted his friend with his life. Why not trust him with his heart, too?
Lips parted to offer entrance to the patient muscle, and another groan dropped from his mouth. His own tongue lifted, lapping eagerly. Eyes fell closed.
Slowly, beckoned by the prompting Ian carefully stretched out across the expanse of his friend comfortably.
Despite his rather good looks and the provado that everyone showed in the Army, JD was actually inexperienced when it came down to these more physical pursuits, he could count on one hand the number of people he had kissed and that was why he was letting Ian take control, he was really out of practise.
A soft groan answered Ian’s as the shorter man stretched out, his body shuddering slightly as his hands slid down, realizing that his friend was naked and on top of him. Before this the other man had been wrapped up in the sheets and blankets from where he had tumbled off the bed and usually Ian was at least wearing underwear when they ended up at each other’s door during those odd hours of the night when flashback dreams seemed to occur.
Ian was not experienced either. He hadn’t been with many people, and even then mostly it was a woman. But perhaps that had been a masquerade - this felt right, none that had come before came anywhere close. Nor was he looking to take what was going on further than it needed to go.
In spite of how it seemed this was not planned out.
Fingers upon skin had Ian shivering in delight. It’d been a long time since he’d been so close to anybody he’d forgotten what it was like to be touched. Leaning into those strong fingers he hoped JD would continue. Kisses ensued, patient but heated.
Breaking the kiss his eyes opened and looked up at Ian, breath coming out in soft pants. Even in these shadows Ian was beautiful, he couldn’t deny that fact even if he was trying to deny his own feelings towards the other man. His hands slowly moved down Ian’s sides as JD started to roll them over, laying his friend down onto the mattress and taking a moment to admire the other man.
He didn’t know what to say or if he should anything at this moment as he rested on his side on the mattress next to Ian, the night was now quiet and the fireworks a not too distant memory in their minds but maybe this started something else, or maybe it was a one off. A hand reached down, running over Ian’s bicep and up to his shoulder.
His own eyes fluttered open as the connection ceased. Breathless, heart racing, curious. Beneath him the man spread across what was left of the sheets was Adonis - fair and proud, yet humble. JD never really bragged, showed off. There were so many qualities about his friend that he admired. Many more he loved.
The way those fingers grazed his skin elicited a shudder of delight. And then they were tumbling, rolling onto their sides. Ian leaned in so as to brace for the soft impact trusting the other man utterly and completely. He’d have done anything for JD. It was a powerful motivator, twisted love like theirs, but it tasted so sweet.
Leaning into the warmth of those touches his own fingers found purchase on cloth covered skin, beneath he could feel muscle. Already he had those hard lines and curves memorized but this was different.
All those visions that he had dreamed over the years - both good and bad had nothing on this, wasn’t it U2 who sung that it was even better than the real thing? Why that was going through JD’s head was beyond him, in this moment he was still expecting to wake up, that what was happening now was nothing but a dream concocted by his mind to tease him about what he could never have.
Ian was so much stronger than he was where it counted, while JD could lift heavier weights and do more reps the other man had a strength that made his physical one seem pale in comparison. Ian never gave up. Some might just throw their hat in if they had lost their leg but not Ian, the younger man was determined from the start that this disability wasn’t going to define him, it wasn’t going to make him different and he fought hard. It was around that time, when Ian was in rehab learning how to walk with his new leg, that he started to feel something more than just the bond that was formed between soldiers who served together.
He could feel the heat of Ian’s fingertips through the cotton of his shirt searching for the muscles underneath. Moving back a bit, out of the touch, he pulled the shirt over his head and let it drop somewhere behind him before shifting closer to his friend and pressing a soft kiss on the firm pectoral muscle.
The way that fabric left the muscle - fluid as the water in motion - his hands found bare skin. A breath was taken, lip was bitten but released. Greedily his fingers memorized that skin. His organs were taut but not expectant - how could he expect anything? This was so new and…
Mouth found skin, he peppered flesh with lips and tongue to keep the moment genuine, distracted.
It was the way he’d always imagined. Pinned beneath the mountain of muscle that was his friend his dream was slowly coming true.
Muscles twitched beneath the skin as those gentle touches mapped out the lines between them, if he had known that his chest was going to explored in such a way he would have done some push ups or presses to firm them up, but it seemed like Ian was enjoying what was already there.
His head lifted as he felt soft kisses pressed onto his skin, he had wanted to do this for Ian, to explore the lines of those muscles with his lips and hands but at this moment his friend was in control, his own exploration could wait.
“Ian…” JD whispered, lifting the other man’s head away before pressing a firm kiss to those lips again. He had no idea where his was going, part of him still felt like he was taking advantage of Ian but these kisses, these touches were telling him otherwise. Ian wanted it as much as he did.
Nothing about JD was disappointing in any context. He worshiped every piece of the man hovering over him in so many silent ways. And he was never discouraged or let down in any capacity.
Patiently he scoured, devoured any skin in reach. It was warm, supple, and he could taste JD on his tongue, across his lips. It was not something easily wiped away or forgotten. He didn’t realize his soul had been craving a sample until he’d taken that brave plunge.
Head lifting at the prompting, groan in response to his name being uttered with such silent depth was silenced, manifested into a moan. Between them his sensitive organ was grazing fabric and he shifted to spare it any agony of chafing or being caught up in a swirl of shirt or shorts.
JD had rested on his elbows, looking down at Ian as the other man shifted and moved underneath him in the silent exploration. He knew he had quite a few pounds more on his frame and didn’t want to squash his friend below him although he knew Ian could handle his weight.
The kiss continued, alternating between soft and firm though this time JD took control letting his tongue taste and explore Ian’s mouth, the groan urging him on. He couldn’t remember the exact time when his thoughts about Ian had started to become less than pure but it was after they had both returned stateside and Ian was in the VA rehab learning how to walk again. But he had kept them to himself, Ian needed his moral support more than anything during those tough times and that was what JD had given for so long he had thought that something like this was not possible.
Hands would slide up to shoulders, fingers of one hand would curl around the back to JD’s neck to bring that mouth forward again. With a deep hunger Ian kissed his friend deeply still, eyes fluttering closed. Soft sounds would come and evolve into larger ones. If they kept this up Ian knew there would be no turning back considering all of the times he’d imagined being in this exact position. His body craved the other.
Letting his friend set the pace Ian made himself focus so as not to overwhelm the other with unwanted sensation.
The kiss was broken, deep breaths were needed and taken. His body was tingling with excitement, his nerves were winning though, despite the fact that he was enjoying this with Ian there was no physical indication of his arousal. Lowering his head again, kisses trailing from neck to shoulder and down the collarbone to one of those firm pectoral muscles. As he shifted his body JD could feel something between them, was that..?
“Ian. Are you..?” He asked softly, looking anywhere but towards Ian’s lower body.
His body was betraying him. The darkness would hide the heat flushing into his cheeks as he looked down between them, biting at his bottom lip as he assessed what JD had acknowledged. Eyes lifted and he nodded. “Seems that way,” He managed, emitting a sigh, “I’m so sorry.” He’d been craving this for so long and apparently it was more evident than he’d realized. He hoped, prayed, that it wouldn’t scare the other man away.
“I don’t...I don’t have expectations for where this is going,” He explained, not wanting his friend to think that there was an obligation or anything involved.
JD wasn’t really sure how to take it, was Ian’s arousal because of him or was it just a physical reaction from the kissing and closeness? He had never been in this position before and wasn’t sure what he should do, while he was enjoying the touching and kissing it was nearing his own personal limits. But at the same time he didn’t want to disappoint Ian. He never wanted to disappoint Ian.
“Where is this going?” He asked softly, not sure what ‘this’ even was. Maybe when his mind had figured it all out, if he could come to terms with these feelings they could progress, if it was what Ian wanted.
All of this was suddenly embarrassing. He had not planned for this to happen and especially not like this. The want to recoil, to push the other man away and flee was strong but he fought it because of the newness of the moment. “Honestly, I have no idea.” There had never been a plan. It had just happened. He wasn’t sure even if JD wanted this, whatever this manifested into.
Gently his palms came to rest on JD’s shoulders and he pushed his friend away. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, I don’t even know what I’m doing. I’m so sorry.” Apologizing again, he had no idea why. Everything about this was wrong or going wrong, or maybe he was overthinking it.
He moved a bit, sitting back on his haunches as Ian pushed him away. This was the moment for truth but it was how to word it that had JD’s tongue tied in knots, he didn’t want to ruin a decade of friendship by saying the wrong thing but he had to get this off his chest.
“We’ve gone to hell and back, literally. And honestly the only thing that has stopped me from doing anything stupid is you.” JD sighed softly, running a hand over his face. “During those dark nights, those times where the nightmares and flashbacks get too much for me to handle and I just want them to stop… I think of you. I think of how my own struggles are nothing compared to what you have gone through, despite everything you’re still here, you still see the hope and light in life that makes it worth living. If you can still see these then I should too, I don’t want you to walk this path alone.”
They weren’t too far apart but just enough for a chill in the air to brush upon his skin and cause him to shiver. As JD sat backward Ian repositioned to better see his friend. The shame was still there and he was grateful for the darkness, but he listened all the same to those words uttered next.
That confession nearly shattered his heart. What right did he have to feel shame when his friend was laying everything out there on the line, bearing himself for Ian without an ounce of any shame. A hand lifted. Fingers found JD’s and he took one of the other man’s hands, squeezing his fingers.
“I’m never alone. You’re always there for me and you always will be.” His words were soft but true and he soaked in the depth of them.
That gentle squeeze of their hands told JD enough, that he hadn’t just ruined everything with his little confession. But Ian deserved to know the truth, not that he had exactly lied to his friend at any time, he just never admitted how much the other man had helped him over the years.
“But I’ve also had thoughts about you… less than pure ones.” He was also grateful that the darkness of the room was hiding the fact that he was chewing on the inside of his lip, working out the words. “The kind of thoughts that I was raised to think were wrong, weren’t natural to feel about another man. I just… I don’t know how to get past them.” Kissing Ian tonight was as far as he had ever gone in regards to giving in to those thoughts and they had even sparked new ones, especially since the feelings seemed to be mutual.
Again he listened. An exhale was taken when the admission came, glad they were on the same page. “I’ve been unsure...not that I don’t know what I want, I just….it’s hard to tell your best friend how you feel...how you’ve always felt…” It was frightening. Being unsure of how to approach something. “I don’t want to rush you into anything, or put any pressure on you. I just — I’ve thought about those things too, with you, and I don’t know what to do next.”
Maybe that made him weak, he didn’t care. He wouldn’t say much more, he wouldn’t profess his love for his friend that ran any deeper than their already solid connection as friends. That was pressure he was sure JD didn’t want right now.
As if to even the playing field Ian leaned forward to press a kiss against one of JD’s cheeks, not minding the stubble there. “We will figure it out.”
They had both taken some big steps tonight, ones that no matter what would happen from now on those steps couldn’t be taken back. It was only forward from here on. He listened to every word Ian said, taking in the other man’s admissions, everything he was feeling Ian felt too and deep down it was kind of a relief.
He didn’t really feel that pressured at the moment, other than the fact that Ian was probably still a bit aroused and he wasn’t sure if he should leave his friend to deal with that issue or not. Part of him didn’t want to leave, not only because of what had happened but also because he knew that Ian wouldn’t sleep that well tonight, he never did after the fireworks, the fourth of July was always the worse time and they tried to get away, out into the wild and as far away from civilization as they could get.
JD smiled at the kiss. “Don’t we always?” They always figured things out.
A nod would come. A sense of relief would wash over him, cleansing his bones. They always figured things out - in combat or here in the dark. “We do.”
“I should probably put something on, though,” he sighed, looking out at the dark puddles on the floor. He hadn’t realized the plight until it’d come between them and though the idea of moving away from this and the warmth was not something he wanted he knew the value of decency.
Some underwear was probably a good idea, especially since JD had no plans of going back to his own place tonight. “I’ll get you something.” It was so much easier for him to get up and grab something than it was for Ian to find his crutches or where he had dumped his leg before he could search for clothing.
Before Ian could say anything he had slid off the bed and grabbed a pair of loose sleep shorts from the nearby set of draws, after handing them over he left Ian alone for a few minutes, ducking into the nearby bathroom to brush his teeth, the before bed routine that his friend was well and truly used to by now.
Nodding, Ian let JD go. He was grateful for the addition of shorts, sliding into them easily enough. There wasn’t much help he truly needed but aid from his friend was not a thing he protested in any sense.
His crutch was gathered, and using a bit of rope attached to the ceiling to help he was up. It took only a few moments to gather the blankets and sheets from the floor where they’d fallen. The bed was then made as best as it could be.
A lamp would come on at the bedside enough for his friend to see the way back.
JD would have helped make the bed again when he came out from the bathroom but he also knew how much his friend preferred to do things for himself, no matter how difficult they might be so he only offered help if it was clear Ian was struggling. Tucking in a sheet and blankets in around the end of the bed wasn’t exactly that difficult a task.
With his teeth clean and some water splashed onto this face JD looked at his reflection in the mirror, he took a deep breath and sighed softly before walking back towards the bedroom, smiling at his friend who was lying on the bed again. “Can I get you anything?”
Ian had crawled into bed by that time, trying his best to relax against the pillows and the nest of sheets. The water could be heard running and then it was gone.
Shaking his head at the question, Ian smiled some, beckoning his friend over. “No, but thanks.” Just some sleep would do. He knew JD would be there to keep him safe, protected. That was relaxing in and of itself.
When the other had come to lay down Ian turned off the light and then turned to burrow in against the other man, eyes closing as he willed sleep to come.
When he was sure Ian was alright he walked over to the bed, pulled the covers back and climbed in. His body had calmed down though his mind was still going a mile a minute, hopefully it would calm down during the night and by morning they were both thinking straight.
With the lights off and Ian curled up next to him JD took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Surprisingly it didn’t really take that long for sleep to claim him and his whole body relaxed at that moment.